Trump to appear in court for New York civil fraud trial – latest

Donald Trump has vowed to put in an appearance at his New York civil fraud trial on Monday where a judge will determine what penalties he will face over his fraudulent business activities.

The former president took to Truth Social on Sunday night to warn New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron and New York Attorney General Letitia James “see you in court”.

“I’m going to Court tomorrow morning to fight for my name and reputation,” he vowed. “THIS WHOLE CASE IS A SHAM!!! See you in Court - Monday morning.”

The trial, beginning at 10am on Monday, comes after the judge last week found that the former president, his adult sons Donald Jr and Eric, companies and executives overvalued the assets of their company for years.

On Sunday, Mr Trump took part in a campaign event in Iowa where he made a series of bizarre claims about electric cars and boats.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives and Senate voted overwhelmingly to pass a funding resolution and keep the federal government open on Saturday after Speaker Kevin McCarthy ended his attempts to work with far-right hardliners and instead cut a deal with Democrats.

Key Points

• Trump’s fraud trial could expose his ‘fantasy world’ – and seriously damage his business interests

• Trump falsely claims to have ‘won Iowa’ twice

• Buttigieg slams Trump’s record on disrespecting the military

• Trump calls for Bowman to be jailed for pulling Capitol fire alarm

• Who is Arthur Engoron? Judge weighing future of Donald Trump empire is Ivy League-educated ex-cabbie

The scene inside the courtroom...

15:11 , Oliver O'Connell

The Independent’s Alex Woodward sent this dispatch from the courtroom:

Donald Trump has arrived inside a downtown Manhattan courtroom to face a blockbuster $250m lawsuit from the state’s attorney general days after the judge eviscerated his defense against years-long allegations of fraud surrounding his brand-building business empire.

The former president – surrounded by news cameras in a short hallway before enteringNew York Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron’s courtroom on the third floor of the building – wore a dark blue suit and blue tie as he slowly walked to his defense team.

Last week’s decision granted a partial judgment in favour of New York Attorney General Letitia James’s lawsuit, finding that the former president, his adult children and chief associates allegedly defrauded banks and insurers by overvaluing properties by billions dollars, exaggerating the state of his wealth to fraudulently obtain favourable insurance deals, financing and other transactions.

It was his second time inside a Manhattan courtroom in recent months, after he was criminally charged in a case surrounding so-called hush-money payments to an adult film star in the leadup to the 2016 election in an alleged effort to quash compromising stories of his affairs.

Mr Trump has spent decades navigating legal threats that would reveal his alleged reputation as a fraud, but a brutal 35-page decision from Judge Engoron – if allowed to stand – could threaten to dismantle his business interests in the state.

The judge determined that no trial was necessary to determine that Mr Trump’s financial statements were fraudulent, allowing a bench trial to move forward that will address other claims in Ms James’s lawsuit.

Both sides have offered up long lists of potential witnesses for the trial, including Mr Trump and his adult children.

Ms James entered the courtroom around 9.30am with her team after addressing reporters outside.

“For years, Donald Trump falsely inflated his net worth to enrich himself and cheat the system. We won the foundation of our case last week and proved that his purported net worth has long been rooted in incredible fraud. In this country, there are consequences for this type of persistent fraud, and we look forward to demonstrating the full extent of his fraud and illegality during trial,” she wrote in a statement on Monday morning.

“No matter how rich or powerful you are, there are not two sets of laws for people in this country. The rule of law must apply equally to everyone, and it is my responsibility to make sure that it does,” she added.

Trump speaks to reporters outside courtroom

15:07 , Oliver O'Connell

In remarks to the press outside the courtroom, former president Donald Trump called the case the “continuation of single-greatest witch hunt of all time” attacking both the judge and attorney general.

The Trump 2024 campaign has leveraged his appearance to its full effect, sending out a lengthy email attacking Letitia James and another asking for donations.

Mr Trump spoke at length outside the courtroom, reiterating many of his campaign talking points depicting himself as a victim rather than the perpetrator of fraud and other charges, waiting for cameras and mics to be positioned for best effect.

“Just so you know, my financial statements are phenomenal,” Mr Trump says. Judge Arthur Engoron has already issued a pretrial ruling that he committed fraud and inflated his net worth.

News networks carried the footage live, but both CNN and MSNBC cut the audio and continued in-studio discussions of the case. Fox News continued to broadcast his remarks.

Watch: New York AG Letitia James’s remarks outside court

14:57 , Oliver O'Connell

14:47 , Oliver O'Connell

Trump arrives at court

14:36 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump has arrived at the courthouse in Lower Manhattan.

TV crews are gathered in the hallway outside the courtroom and Trump may make remarks. Judge Arthur Engoron will decide if cameras will also be allowed in court for the trial.

Eric Trump led the first group of the Trump team into the courtroom.

Alex Woodward, reporting for The Independent from inside the courtroom, says that there was a lot of chatter before news of the former president’s arrival in the building and then things got very quiet.

NY AG James makes remarks on courthouse steps

14:30 , Oliver O'Connell

New York Attorney General Letitia James addressed reporters on the steps of the courthouse in Lower Manhattan.

She pointedly said in part: “No matter how much money you think you have, no one is above the law.”

AG James is now in the courtroom with her team.

Trump departs Manhattan home for court

14:19 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump has departed his home at Trump Tower to head to court in Lower Manhattan for his $250m civil fraud trial.

This will be the former president’s fifth court appearance this year.

The motorcade rolled out from the side entrance to Trump Tower and headed towards the eastside of Manhattan to take the FDR downtown.

Protestors gather outside of Manhattan courthouse

14:06 , Ariana Baio

Protestors demonstrating against Donald Trump ahead of his Manhattan civil trial on Monday gathered outside of the courthouse where the ex-president is expected to appear later today.

The Independent’s Alex Woodward is down at the courthouse this morning and shared some insight about the early-morning protestors:

A group of protesters are blocking the street in front of the courthouse chanting “Trump lies all the time”. They said NYPD didn’t give them a dedicated space for a demonstration.

After a few minutes, the NYPD community affairs officers moved the protest out of the street. Where traffic continued as normal

Trump’s fraud trial could expose his ‘fantasy world’ – and seriously damage his business interests

14:00 , Alex Woodward

Apotentially devastating ruling against Donald Trump has pierced the heart of a decades-old narrative he used to boost his national profile and seduce millions of voters to support his campaigns for the presidency.

That persona was built on a “fantasy” made up of cheating, lying and outright fraud, according to a New York judge presiding over a blockbuster lawsuit from the state’s attorney general, whose investigation revealed the former president, his adult sons, businesses and chief executives “grossly and materially inflated” assets over a decade.

They defrauded banks and insurers by overvaluing properties by billions of dollars, exaggerating the state of his wealth to fraudulently obtain favourable insurance deals, financing and other transactions, according to the lawsuit.

Mr Trump spent those decades navigating threats that would reveal his reputation as a fraud, but a brutal 35-page decision from Judge Arthur F Engoron – if allowed to stand – not only could expose the former president’s alleged history of corruption, it might also take his business empire down with him. Mr Trump himself condemned the decision as a plan to “KILL TRUMP”.

Unlike the four criminal indictments against him, including two separate cases alleging his role at the centre of a fraudulent campaign to overturn 2020 election results, a multi-million dollar fraud lawsuit could do serious damage to his business.

Read more

Letitia James releases statement ahead of trial

13:33 , Ariana Baio

New York attorney general Letitia James released a statement about the civil trial against Donald Trump, which is expected to begin on Monday.

“For years, Donald Trump falsely inflated his net worth to enrich himself and cheat the system. We won the foundation of our case last week and proved that his purported net worth has long been rooted in incredible fraud. In this country, there are consequences for this type of persistent fraud, and we look forward to demonstrating the full extent of his fraud and illegality during trial.

No matter how rich or powerful you are, there are not two sets of laws for people in this country. The rule of law must apply equally to everyone, and it is my responsibility to make sure that it does.”

Trump falsely claims to have ‘won Iowa’ twice

13:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Mr Trump falsely claimed to have won Iowa twice, seemingly disregarding his second-place finish behind Texas Senator Ted Cruz in 2016.

“We won Iowa twice, and we’re gonna win it again by A LOT!” Mr Trump said on Sunday.

The Independent’s Alex Woodward waiting outside the court

13:26 , Ariana Baio

Outside of the Southern District of New York courthouse, reporters line up to enter for the first day of trial in Donald Trump’s civil case.

‘Press has succumbed to the banality of crazy,’ professor argues

13:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Brian Klaas, an Associate Professor in Global Politics at University College London, argued on X on Sunday that the press has “managed to ‘both sides’ an 80 year old mainstream Democrat with a 77 year old racist authoritarian fraudster, liable for rape, who sought to overturn an election to stay in power, and is facing 91 felony criminal charges”.

“The press has succumbed to what I call ‘the banality of crazy,’ in which they breathlessly report on every minor Biden gaffe, but barely cover Trump calling to execute generals or shoplifters. This numbing effect helps Trump—and warps American politics,” he added.

Trump claims farmers and builders approach him while crying

12:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Donald Trump claimed on Sunday that farmers and builders who have never cried before approach him crying to thank him for what he’s done.

Trump baselessly claims electric cars can only go for 30 minutes

11:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Donald Trump baselessly claimed that electric cars can only go for 30 minutes before needing to be recharged in another swipe at climate-friendly policies while speaking in Iowa on Sunday.

He also suggested that drivers of electric cars become “schizophrenic” because the charge only lasts 10 minutes.

Trump shares how he would prefer to die as he claims electric boats would sink

10:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Who is Arthur Engoron? Judge weighing future of Donald Trump empire is Ivy League-educated ex-cabbie

09:00 , Michael R. Sisak

He’s driven a taxi cab, played in a band and protested the Vietnam War. As a New York City judge, Arthur Engoron has resolved hundreds of disputes, deciding everything from zoning and free speech issues to a custody fight over a dog named “Stevie.”

Now, in the twilight of a distinguished two-decade career on the bench, the erudite, Ivy League-educated judge is presiding over his biggest case yet: deciding the future of former President Donald Trump‘s real estate empire.

Last week, Engoron ruled that Trump committed years of fraud by exaggerating his wealth and the value of assets on financial statements he used to get loans and make deals. As punishment, the judge said he would dissolve some of Trump’s companies — a decision that could cause him to lose control of marquee New York properties, like Trump Tower.

Starting Monday, Engoron will preside over a non-jury trial in Manhattan to resolve remaining claims in New York Attorney General Letitia James‘ lawsuit against Trump, his company and top executives. He will also decide on monetary damages. James’ office is seeking $250 million.

Trump, who is listed as a potential witness and could end up face-to-face with Engoron in court, called the judge’s fraud ruling “the corporate death penalty.” He referred to Engoron as a “political hack” and said his would appeal.

Read more

Nikki Haley claims Trump campaign sent her birdcage after Trump called her ‘birdbrain’

08:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Nikki Haley wrote on X that the Trump campaign left a birdcage outside her hotel room in Des Moines, Iowa after Mr Trump called her “birdbrain”.

Trump calls for Bowman to be jailed for pulling Capitol fire alarm

07:00 , Gustaf.Kilander

Donald Trump has called for Rep Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) to be put in jail for pulling a fire alarm in the Capitol on Saturday.

The former president bizarrely claimed that Mr Bowman’s behaviour was worse than that of the rioters who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

“Will Congressman [Jamaal] Bowman be prosecuted and imprisoned for very dangerously pulling and setting off the main fire alarm system in order to stop a Congressional vote that was going on in D.C.,” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday.

“His egregious act is covered on tape, a horrible display of nerve and criminality. It was a very dangerous ‘Obstruction of an Official Proceeding,’ the same as used against our J-6 prisoners. Actually, his act may have been worse. HE MUST SUFFER THEIR SAME FATE. WHEN WILL HIS TRIAL BEGIN???” he added.

Mr Bowman admitted on Saturday that he pulled a fire alarm during a House vote but denied he did so to delay it.

Read more

A victory for Letitia James – and New Yorkers who warned about Trump’s fraud for decades

06:00 , Alex Woodward

The stunning decision from the judge follows last year’s filing of a monster lawsuit from the attorney general’s office, stemming from a years-long investigation and building on decades of allegations of fraud.

The three-year probe, launched in the aftermath of Mr Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen offering bombshell congressional testimony about the business in 2019, included two depositions from the former president. He invoked his Fifth Amendment right nearly 450 times.

Speaking from her office in New York City last year, Ms James said Mr Trump “cheated all of us” by inflating his net worth “to unjustly enrich himself and to cheat the system”.

“This investigation revealed that Donald Trump engaged in years of illegal conduct to inflate his net worth ... to deceive banks and the people of the great state of New York,” she said.

Professor says US is ‘gambling lives’ on that Trump rhetoric won’t create violence

05:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Brian Klaas, an Associate Professor in Global Politics at University College London, appeared on MSNBC on Sunday arguing that the US should be concerned about Donald Trump’s violent rhetoric.

“We’re sorta gambling a lot of people’s lives and our democracy on the idea that this rhetoric doesn’t translate into real world violence and that is a very, very bad bet for America to make,” he said.

Trump could lose his grip on image-building New York properties

04:00 , Alex Woodward

Mr Trump repeatedly reminds his supporters of his descent from the “golden escalators” when he launched his 2016 campaign for president, what he has characterised as a turning point in American history. His triplex apartment in that building – Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue – was often on display for news cameras as he paraded his wealth.

If the judge’s ruling is allowed to stand, Mr Trump could be forced to relinquish control of nearly a dozen of his brand-building properties across New York.

The value of the triplex was fraudulently inflated by as much as $207m within four years, according to the lawsuit.

“A discrepancy of this order of magnitude, by a real estate developer sizing up his own living space of decades, can only be considered fraud,” Judge Engoron wrote.

His Wall Street building was valued by the company at $572m, more than twice the value determined by outside appraisals, according to the lawsuit.

While the scope of the judge’s ruling is unclear, and which could potentially extend to properties controlled by New York companies, Mr Trump’s infamous Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida has come under closer scrutiny. The value of the former president’s current residence was inflated by as much as 2,300 per cent, according to the judge’s order.

The ruling cited an appraisal from the Palm Beach County Assessor’s office that determined its value between $18m and $27.6m.

AOC: There are no moderates in the GOP

03:15 , Gustaf Kilander

Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) argued on Sunday on CNN that there are no moderates in the GOP.

“There are just different degrees of fealty to Donald Trump. But it starts with a lot of fealty and goes to extreme fealty… We saw them run around the House like a Roomba until they found a door that Democrats opened,” she said on State of The Union.

A business-crushing decision

02:30 , Alex Woodward

The lawsuit targeting Mr Trump and his Trump Organization umbrella alleges that Mr Trump fraudulently inflated his net worth by as much as $2.2bn in one year and by hundreds of millions of dollars in other years over a decade.

A recent filing argues that he inflated his net worth by $812m to $2.2bn – roughly 17 to 39 per cent each year from 2011 to 2021. The $2.2bn estimate came in 2014.

Ms James’s lawsuit alleges that the Trump Organization and its key players made more than 200 false and misleading evaluations of its assets over a 10-year period from 2011 to 2021.

The operations of the Trump Organization, composed of roughly 500 entities under Mr Trump’s effective control, will come further into scrutiny in a civil trial.

In his ruling, Judge Engoron ordered several of the former president’s licences to be rescinded, effectively upending his abilities to do business in the state. An independent monitor also could be appointed to oversee compliance with the order and Mr Trump’s operations and liabilities to lenders, insurers and others.

Ms James also has asked the court to bar Mr Trump from entering into commercial real estate transactions in the state and prevent him from applying for loans – and to block the Trumps from serving as an officer of any corporation in the state.

And Mr Trump could still be on the hook for at least $250m in lost revenue and penalties sought by the attorney general.

Biden slams old Senate colleague for working with No Labels: ‘It’s going to help’ Trump

01:45 , Gustaf Kilander

President Joe Biden criticised his old Senate colleague Joe Liberman for working with No Labels to explore a third party bid for the White House.

“It’s going to help the other guy. And he knows,” Mr Biden told John Harwood and ProPublica.

Mr Lieberman, 81, served in the Senate for Connecticut between 1989 and 2013, initially as a Democrat but from 2006 as an Independent.

He endorsed Republican John McCain in the 2008 election and said at the late Arizona senator’s funeral that he had declined an offer to be his running mate.

Eviscerating Trump’s ‘fantasy world’

01:00 , Alex Woodward

Mr Kise, the former president’s attorney, told the court in pre-trial filings that Mr Trump is “an investment genius” and “probably one of the most successful real estate developers in the country”.

He is a “master at finding value where others see nothing,” he said.

Judge Engoron’s ruling also accused attorneys of wasting the court’s time with “repetitive, frivolous” filings that sought to delay the proceedings, adding that the sworn statements in Mr Trump’s depositions are “wholly without basis in law or fact.”

“In defendants’ world: rent-regulated apartments are worth the same as unregulated apartments; restricted land is worth the same as unrestricted land; restrictions can evaporate into thin air; a disclaimer by one party casting responsibility on another party exonerates the other party’s lies,” the judge wrote.

“This is a fantasy world, not a real world.”

Judge Engoron used the former president’s words against him, citing comments from a deposition citing his comments about “worthless clause” disclaimers included in his financial statements, which Mr Trump has argued insulates him from liability.

“The defences Donald Trump attempts to articulate in his sworn deposition are wholly without basis in law or fact,” Mr Engoron wrote, adding that the documents presented to the court that were provided to banks and insurers “clearly contain fraudulent valuations that defendants used in business.

The judge’s ruling stresses that Mr Trump cannot “rely on a disclaimer” to misrepresent facts.

Lindsey Graham tells Trump ‘pulling plug on Ukraine’ would be ‘ten times worse than Afghanistan'

Monday 2 October 2023 00:15 , Gustaf Kilander

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) appeared on CBS’s Face The Nation on Sunday saying that “if we pull the plug on Ukraine, that’s ten times worse than Afghanistan”.

“There goes Taiwan,” he added.

Judgment against Trump in fraud trial could strip him of New York businesses and properties

Sunday 1 October 2023 23:30 , Alex Woodward

Thus far, the criminal cases against Mr Trump have not interrupted his campaign fundraising or poll numbers in the race for the 2024 Republican nomination for president. But a judgment against him in an upcoming fraud trial could strip him of his New York businesses and properties on which he has built his brand.

Judge Engoron’s decision granted a summary judgment in Letitia James’ lawsuit, resolving key claims that will make it easier for the state’s attorney general to argue her case in front of a judge. In essence, the judge determined that no trial was necessary to determine that Mr Trump’s financial statements were fraudulent.

Judge Engoron will preside over a bench trial on other counts in her lawsuit without a jury on 2 October. It could take weeks or months to get through; both sides have offered up long lists of potential witnesses, including Mr Trump and his adult children.

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” Trump attorney Christopher Kise asked the judge one day after the ruling, “but what in the court’s mind does this trial look like?”

Ms James’s office does not intend to drop any of the remaining counts in the case.

In her only public statement following the judge’s decision, Ms James simply stated that the judge ruled in her favour, and “we look forward to presenting the rest of our case at trial.”

Pennsylvania governor’s voter registration change draws Trump’s ire in echo of 2020 election clashes

Sunday 1 October 2023 22:45 , Marc Levy

Donald Trump has a familiar target in his sights: Pennsylvania’s voting rules.

He never stopped attacking court decisions on mail-in ballots during the COVID-19 pandemic, falsely claiming it as a reason for his 2020 loss in the crucial battleground state. Now, the former Republican president is seizing on a decision by Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro to bypass the Legislature and start automatic voter registration.

The blowback has echoes of the 2020 election, when Trump and his allies relentlessly criticized decisions by the state’s Democratic-majority Supreme Court. That included extending the deadline to receive mail-in ballots over warnings that the pandemic had slowed postal service deliveries.

Republicans have joined Trump in railing against Shapiro’s action, saying there are not enough safeguards to prevent minors or undocumented immigrants from registering. The Shapiro administration disputes that.

“THE DEMOCRATS ARE TRYING TO STEAL PENNSYLVANIA AGAIN BY DOING THE ‘AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRATION’ SCAM,” Trump wrote on his social media platform.

Read more

Trump shares how he would prefer to die as he claims electric boats would sink

Sunday 1 October 2023 22:03 , Gustaf Kilander

Trump’s fraud trial could expose his ‘fantasy world’ – and seriously damage his business interests

Sunday 1 October 2023 22:00 , Alex Woodward

Apotentially devastating ruling against Donald Trump has pierced the heart of a decades-old narrative he used to boost his national profile and seduce millions of voters to support his campaigns for the presidency.

That persona was built on a “fantasy” made up of cheating, lying and outright fraud, according to a New York judge presiding over a blockbuster lawsuit from the state’s attorney general, whose investigation revealed the former president, his adult sons, businesses and chief executives “grossly and materially inflated” assets over a decade.

They defrauded banks and insurers by overvaluing properties by billions of dollars, exaggerating the state of his wealth to fraudulently obtain favourable insurance deals, financing and other transactions, according to the lawsuit.

Mr Trump spent those decades navigating threats that would reveal his reputation as a fraud, but a brutal 35-page decision from Judge Arthur F Engoron – if allowed to stand – not only could expose the former president’s alleged history of corruption, it might also take his business empire down with him. Mr Trump himself condemned the decision as a plan to “KILL TRUMP”.

Unlike the four criminal indictments against him, including two separate cases alleging his role at the centre of a fraudulent campaign to overturn 2020 election results, a multi-million dollar fraud lawsuit could do serious damage to his business.

Read more

Trump baselessly claims electric cars can only go for 30 minutes

Sunday 1 October 2023 21:52 , Gustaf Kilander

Donald Trump baselessly claimed that electric cars can only go for 30 minutes before needing to be recharged in another swipe at climate-friendly policies while speaking in Iowa on Sunday.

He also suggested that drivers of electric cars become “schizophrenic” because the charge only lasts 10 minutes.

Trump claims farmers and builders approach him while crying

Sunday 1 October 2023 21:36 , Gustaf Kilander

Donald Trump claimed on Sunday that farmers and builders who have never cried before approach him crying to thank him for what he’s done.

Trump falsely claims to have ‘won Iowa’ twice

Sunday 1 October 2023 21:33 , Gustaf Kilander

Mr Trump falsely claimed to have won Iowa twice, seemingly disregarding his second-place finish behind Texas Senator Ted Cruz in 2016.

“We won Iowa twice, and we’re gonna win it again by A LOT!” Mr Trump said on Sunday.

Trump speaks in Iowa ahead of January caucus

Sunday 1 October 2023 21:31 , Gustaf Kilander

In Iowa on Sunday afternoon, Mr Trump told a crowd of supporters: “Less than 4 months from now, each of you is going to cast the most important vote of your lives.”

Buttigieg slams Trump’s record on disrespecting the military

Sunday 1 October 2023 21:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Secretary of Transportation blasted Mr Trump for his record of disrespecting the military during an appearance on MSNBC on Sunday.

He said Mr Trump’s attacks on General Mark Milley was “part of a lifelong pattern with the former president that I would argue was first displayed when he faked a disability in order to avoid having to go to Vietnam and allowed, I assume, some working-class person to go in his place”.

Trump rally attendee says she’ll ‘start crying’ when she sees him

Sunday 1 October 2023 21:00 , Gustaf Kilander

A Trump rally attendee told RSBN that when she sees the former president, “I’ll probably start crying. I’m going to start crying now. When he comes out on stage and I can see him face-to-face, it’s going to be the best day of my life. I love that man.”

Trump calls for Bowman to be jailed for pulling Capitol fire alarm

Sunday 1 October 2023 20:59 , Gustaf Kilander, Eric Garcia

Donald Trump has called for Rep Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) to be put in jail for pulling a fire alarm in the Capitol on Saturday.

The former president bizarrely claimed that Mr Bowman’s behaviour was worse than that of the rioters who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

“Will Congressman [Jamaal] Bowman be prosecuted and imprisoned for very dangerously pulling and setting off the main fire alarm system in order to stop a Congressional vote that was going on in D.C.,” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday.

“His egregious act is covered on tape, a horrible display of nerve and criminality. It was a very dangerous ‘Obstruction of an Official Proceeding,’ the same as used against our J-6 prisoners. Actually, his act may have been worse. HE MUST SUFFER THEIR SAME FATE. WHEN WILL HIS TRIAL BEGIN???” he added.

Mr Bowman admitted on Saturday that he pulled a fire alarm during a House vote but denied he did so to delay it.

Read more

Who is Arthur Engoron? Judge weighing future of Donald Trump empire is Ivy League-educated ex-cabbie

Sunday 1 October 2023 20:30 , Michael R. Sisak

He’s driven a taxi cab, played in a band and protested the Vietnam War. As a New York City judge, Arthur Engoron has resolved hundreds of disputes, deciding everything from zoning and free speech issues to a custody fight over a dog named “Stevie.”

Now, in the twilight of a distinguished two-decade career on the bench, the erudite, Ivy League-educated judge is presiding over his biggest case yet: deciding the future of former President Donald Trump‘s real estate empire.

Last week, Engoron ruled that Trump committed years of fraud by exaggerating his wealth and the value of assets on financial statements he used to get loans and make deals. As punishment, the judge said he would dissolve some of Trump’s companies — a decision that could cause him to lose control of marquee New York properties, like Trump Tower.

Starting Monday, Engoron will preside over a non-jury trial in Manhattan to resolve remaining claims in New York Attorney General Letitia James‘ lawsuit against Trump, his company and top executives. He will also decide on monetary damages. James’ office is seeking $250 million.

Trump, who is listed as a potential witness and could end up face-to-face with Engoron in court, called the judge’s fraud ruling “the corporate death penalty.” He referred to Engoron as a “political hack” and said his would appeal.

Read more

‘Press has succumbed to the banality of crazy,’ professor argues

Sunday 1 October 2023 20:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Brian Klaas, an Associate Professor in Global Politics at University College London, argued on X on Sunday that the press has “managed to ‘both sides’ an 80 year old mainstream Democrat with a 77 year old racist authoritarian fraudster, liable for rape, who sought to overturn an election to stay in power, and is facing 91 felony criminal charges”.

“The press has succumbed to what I call ‘the banality of crazy,’ in which they breathlessly report on every minor Biden gaffe, but barely cover Trump calling to execute generals or shoplifters. This numbing effect helps Trump—and warps American politics,” he added.

Nikki Haley claims Trump campaign sent her birdcage after Trump called her ‘birdbrain’

Sunday 1 October 2023 19:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Nikki Haley wrote on X that the Trump campaign left a birdcage outside her hotel room in Des Moines, Iowa after Mr Trump called her “birdbrain”.

Professor says US is ‘gambling lives’ on that Trump rhetoric won’t create violence

Sunday 1 October 2023 19:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Brian Klaas, an Associate Professor in Global Politics at University College London, appeared on MSNBC on Sunday arguing that the US should be concerned about Donald Trump’s violent rhetoric.

“We’re sorta gambling a lot of people’s lives and our democracy on the idea that this rhetoric doesn’t translate into real world violence and that is a very, very bad bet for America to make,” he said.

AOC: There are no moderates in the GOP

Sunday 1 October 2023 18:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) argued on Sunday on CNN that there are no moderates in the GOP.

“There are just different degrees of fealty to Donald Trump. But it starts with a lot of fealty and goes to extreme fealty… We saw them run around the House like a Roomba until they found a door that Democrats opened,” she said on State of The Union.

Biden slams old Senate colleague for working with No Labels: ‘It’s going to help’ Trump

Sunday 1 October 2023 18:00 , Gustaf Kilander

President Joe Biden criticised his old Senate colleague Joe Liberman for working with No Labels to explore a third party bid for the White House.

“It’s going to help the other guy. And he knows,” Mr Biden told John Harwood and ProPublica.

Mr Lieberman, 81, served in the Senate for Connecticut between 1989 and 2013, initially as a Democrat but from 2006 as an Independent.

He endorsed Republican John McCain in the 2008 election and said at the late Arizona senator’s funeral that he had declined an offer to be his running mate.

Lindsey Graham tells Trump ‘pulling plug on Ukraine’ would be ‘ten times worse than Afghanistan'

Sunday 1 October 2023 17:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) appeared on CBS’s Face The Nation on Sunday saying that “if we pull the plug on Ukraine, that’s ten times worse than Afghanistan”.

“There goes Taiwan,” he added.

Pennsylvania governor’s voter registration change draws Trump’s ire in echo of 2020 election clashes

Sunday 1 October 2023 17:00 , Marc Levy

Donald Trump has a familiar target in his sights: Pennsylvania’s voting rules.

He never stopped attacking court decisions on mail-in ballots during the COVID-19 pandemic, falsely claiming it as a reason for his 2020 loss in the crucial battleground state. Now, the former Republican president is seizing on a decision by Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro to bypass the Legislature and start automatic voter registration.

The blowback has echoes of the 2020 election, when Trump and his allies relentlessly criticized decisions by the state’s Democratic-majority Supreme Court. That included extending the deadline to receive mail-in ballots over warnings that the pandemic had slowed postal service deliveries.

Republicans have joined Trump in railing against Shapiro’s action, saying there are not enough safeguards to prevent minors or undocumented immigrants from registering. The Shapiro administration disputes that.

“THE DEMOCRATS ARE TRYING TO STEAL PENNSYLVANIA AGAIN BY DOING THE ‘AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRATION’ SCAM,” Trump wrote on his social media platform.

Read more

Trump is returning to Iowa to campaign Sunday in an area he flipped from Democrats in 2016

Sunday 1 October 2023 16:30 , Thomas Beaumont

Former President Donald Trump heads to southeast Iowa Sunday in the middle of a fall campaign push aimed at locking in supporters with large organizing events.

As he has with his other recent travels to the leadoff caucus state, Trump will campaign in an area that formerly supported Democrats but has embraced him.

Trump was planning to headline an afternoon event in Ottumwa, where his campaign was expecting more than 1,000 potential supporters. The small city is a hub in eastern Iowa and the seat of Wapello County, one of 31 counties Trump carried in 2016 that Democrat Barack Obama had won four years earlier.

Trump, the first Republican to capture the county since the Eisenhower administration, campaigned the week before in northeast Iowa. There, he drew about 1,400 to rural Jackson County along the Mississippi River and almost 2,000 to Dubuque County to the north. Like Wapello, Dubuque County had been a Democratic stronghold for decades before 2016.

Though aides said they were not specifically targeting counties that Trump flipped in 2016, they noted that he has had success in the eastern part of Iowa where manufacturing has declined sharply in the past two decades. His administration’s renegotiation of the U.S. trade pact with Canada and Mexico remains popular.

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Ukraine aid left out of US government funding package, raising questions about future support

Sunday 1 October 2023 16:00 , Kevin Freking

Congressional supporters of Ukraine say they won’t give up after a bill to keep the federal government open excluded Joe Biden’s request to provide more security assistance to the war-torn nation.

Still, many lawmakers acknowledge that winning approval for Ukraine assistance in Congress is growing more difficult as the war between Russia and Ukraine grinds on. Republican resistance to the aid has been gaining momentum in the halls of Congress.

Voting in the House this past week pointed to the potential trouble ahead. Nearly half of House Republicans voted to strip $300m from a defence spending bill to train Ukrainian soldiers and purchase weapons. The money later was approved separately, but opponents of Ukraine support celebrated their growing numbers.

Then on Saturday, House speaker Kevin McCarthy omitted additional Ukraine aid from a measure to keep the government running until 17 November. In doing so, he closed the door on a Senate package that would have funnelled $6bn to Ukraine, roughly a third of what has been requested by the White House.

Both the House and Senate overwhelmingly approved the stopgap measure, with members of both parties abandoning the increased aid for Ukraine in favour of avoiding a costly government shutdown.

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Jamaal Bowman ‘embarrassed to admit’ he pulled fire alarm during House vote

Sunday 1 October 2023 15:30 , Eric Garcia

Rep Jamaal Bowman admitted on Saturday that he pulled a fire alarm during a House vote but denied he did so to delay it.

The New York Democrat and member of the so-called Squad of progressive lawmakers faced criticism from Republicans and others after CCTV showed him pulling a fire alarm in a House office building amid a vote to pass a stopgap spending bill to keep the government open.

Mr Bowman released a statement late on Saturday evening claiming that he was trying to open a door that was locked.

“Today, as I was rushing to make a vote, I came to a door that is usually open for votes but today would not open,” he said. “I am embarrassed to admit that I activated the fire alarm, mistakenly thinking it would open the door. I regret this and sincerely apologize for any confusion this caused.”

Republicans accused him of pulling the fire alarm to try to stall a vote to pass the bill, called a continuing resolution, that would continue funding the federal government. This came around the time that Democrats had said they needed time to read the text of the continuing resolution before they voted for the bill.

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Pro-Trump Republicans furious as their own party scotches shutdown threat at 11th hour

Sunday 1 October 2023 15:00 , Eric Garcia

Conservative pro-Trump Republicans raged after the House of Representatives passed a stop-gap spending bill to keep the government open for 45 days, saying it would prevent spending cuts that they had hoped to pass.

The House voted 335 to 91 for a stopgap spending bill called a continuing resolution (CR) as it continues to pass the 12 spending bills before the end of the year.

House conservatives have long opposed passing continuing resolutions and hoped to use the appropriations process to pass right-wing policies despite the fact they had little chance of the Democratic-controlled Senate passing them or President Joe Biden signing them.

The continuing resolution did not include any riders but simply extended spending to the same levels they were last year, although it did not include spending for Ukraine.

“We lost our leverage,” Rep Ralph Norman (R-SC), a member of the House Freedom Caucus, told The Independent. “People up here that never would surrender anything, I mean anything, they just were not going to have a shutdown. So that’s the way it worked.”

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Catastrophic shutdown averted as McCarthy sides with Democrats over far right in his own party

Sunday 1 October 2023 14:30 , John Bowden, Eric Garcia

The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to pass a funding resolution and keep the federal government open on Saturday after Speaker Kevin McCarthy ended his attempts to work with far-right hardliners and instead cut a deal with Democrats.

After several weeks of negotiations and pitched battles in GOP caucus meetings and the press, Mr McCarthy took the most likely option and averted a government shutdown that would have likely cost the US economy millions of dollars and have been politically damaging for his own party. Now, he faces the prospect of governing over a Republican House caucus where his authority is weaker than ever before.

Dozens of Republicans opposed the measure but were unable to clear the 1/3 margin necessary to defeat the resolution under suspended House rules. Conservatives in his caucus were fuming openly to reporters while their Democratic colleagues celebrated during the vote. The final tally on the 45-day measure was 335-91 in favor of the measure; more Democrats than Republicans ended up supporting it in perhaps the clearest view of Mr McCarthy’s tough spot.

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Most of Iowa and New Hampshire voters are considering candidates other than Trump

Sunday 1 October 2023 14:00 , Gustaf Kilander

While Mr Trump has a massive lead with the national Republican electorate, voters in the early-voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire are looking beyond the former president.

More than three-quarters of likely Republican voters in those states are either not even considering Mr Trump, or are considering him but are also looking at other options, according to a poll by CBS News and YouGov.

But when voters were asked who they would back right now, Mr Trump topped the poll by 30 points in Iowa and by 37 points in New Hampshire.

Ron DeSantis was supported by 21 per cent in Iowa and 13 per cent in New Hampshire.

Government shutdown narrowly averted as Senate backs McCarthy deal with Democrats

Sunday 1 October 2023 13:30 , Eric Garcia, John Bowden, Andrew Feinberg

The Senate voted overwhelmingly to approve a stopgap bill to fund government operations for the next 45 days with three and a half hours to go until a midnight deadline at the end of fiscal year, ending a days-long standoff which had threatened to paralyse federal agencies and leave millions of workers without paychecks.

The upper chamber approved the measure, known as a continuing resolution, by a vote of 88 senators In favour and just nine against at 9.04 pm, only hours after the House of Representatives approved an identical bill put forth by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Speaking on the Senate floor just before senators began voting, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the compromise bill would “keep the government open” and represented “good news for the country”.

“Bipartisanship, which has been the trademark of the Senate, has prevailed, and the American people can breathe a sigh of relief,” he said. “The bipartisanship here in the Senate set the tone for today’s result, and I hope it sets the tone for the future”.

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Trump has biggest primary poll lead since George W Bush in 2000 election

Sunday 1 October 2023 13:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Donald Trump has the biggest primary poll lead since George W Bush in the 2000 election.

According to a CNN polling average of five national surveys conducted between 7 and 24 September, Mr Trump has the backing of 58 per cent of Republican voters.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is supported by 15 per cent – 43 points behind Mr Trump.

At a similar time in the 2000 campaign, in September 1999, Mr Bush was at 62 per cent in the polls to Elizabeth Dole’s 10 per cent – a lead of 52 points.

Majority of voters say Trump should be disqualified under 14th amendment, poll shows

Sunday 1 October 2023 12:00 , Gustaf Kilander

A new poll by Politico and Morning Consult has revealed that a majority of voters would support an attempt to disqualify former President Donald Trump from the ballot in 2024.

Fifty-one per cent said that Mr Trump is prevented from running under the 14th Amendment because he was part of an insurrection following the 2020 election.

Before the survey respondents were asked about disqualifying Mr Trump, they were asked a number of questions concerning the Constitution and Mr Trump’s behaviour after the last presidential election.

Thirty-four per cent said that Mr Trump should not be disqualified.

People are confused by Rep George Santos ‘hard launching’ his husband

Sunday 1 October 2023 11:00 , Kelly Rissman

Social media users seemed unaware that scandal-tinged US Rep George Santos of New York is married until he mentioned his husband in a tribute post to late Sen Dianne Feinstein.

“My husband Matt and I are heart broken by the news of the passing of Senator Feinstein,” Mr Santos wrote. “Sen. Feinstein was a trail blazer who dedicated over 30 years of service to her country Our condolences to the Feinstein family as they grief (sic) this grave loss.”

The New York Republican has apparently been married to Matheus Gerard — known as “Matt” — since 2021, according to a Brazilian outlet. Public records reviewed by The Independent suggest that the pair live together in Queens.

Despite the years-old news, X users expressed confusion over Mr Santos’ reference to his spouse.

One user wrote, “did george santos just hard launch his husband ... with the passing of senator feinstein?”

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Senate confirms Mississippi US Attorney, putting him in charge of welfare scandal prosecution

Sunday 1 October 2023 10:00 , Michael Goldberg

The U.S. Senate on Friday confirmed a U.S. attorney in Mississippi who will oversee the largest public corruption case in the state’s history.

President Joe Biden nominated Todd Gee for the post overseeing the Southern District of Mississippi in September 2022. His nomination stalled until April, when both of Mississippi’s Republican U.S. Senators, Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith, had indicated they would support his nomination. Gee was confirmed Friday in an 82-8 vote, with all votes against him coming from other Republicans.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi has overseen prosecutions related to a sprawling corruption scandal in which $77 million of federal welfare funds intended to help some of the poorest people in the U.S. were instead diverted to the rich and powerful. The former head of Mississippi’s Department of Human Services and former nonprofit leaders have pleaded guilty to state and federal charges for misspending money through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.

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Special Counsel mentions Trump’s Milley threat and gun store visit in push for gag order

Sunday 1 October 2023 09:00 , Gustaf Kilander

The office of Special Counsel Jack Smith mentioned both former President Donald Trump seemingly threatening the life of recently retired Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley and his visit to a South Carolina gun store in a Washington, DC legal filing pushing for a gag order.

The prosecutors have been trying for some time to place limits on Mr Trump’s public speech to stop him from threatening possible witnesses or tainting the pool of possible jurors.

The prosecutors noted that if Mr Trump had bought a firearm, he would have been in violation of his release conditions in the election subversion case.

A spokesperson for the Trump campaign wrote in a social media post that Mr Trump had bought a gun, only to later remove the post and say that the ex-president hadn’t bought a gun, but had only said that he wanted to.

Attorneys from the office of the Special Counsel mentioned the gun store visit and Mr Trump’s targeting of Gen Milley as they argued that federal Judge Tanya Chutkan should place additional restrictions on Mr Trump and what he can say ahead of the trial.

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Robert Kennedy Jr to run for president in 2024 as independent, says report

Sunday 1 October 2023 08:00 , Mike Bedigan

Robert F Kennedy Jr is reportedly planning to announce that he will pull out of the race to become the 2024 Democratic presidential candidate and run instead as an independent.

The lawyer and vaccine-sceptic is expected to release campaign ads targeting the Democratic National Committee (DNC) ahead of the announcement in October.

Mr Kennedy, who is the son of the late US Senator Robert F Kennedy, previously filed candidacy papers for the democratic nomination with the FEC in April.

But according to news outlet Mediaite, Mr Kennedy believes that changes to DNC rules may exclude his candidacy and that running as an independent is “the only way to go”.

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Trump’s fraud trial will begin on Monday after appeals court rejects attempts to delay

Sunday 1 October 2023 07:00 , Alex Woodward

A civil trial stemming from a multi-million dollar fraud lawsuit targeting Donald Trump, his adult sons and chief associates will likely proceed next week after a New York appeals court rejected a last-ditch attempt to stall the hearings amid a mountain of criminal and civil cases facing the former president.

The two-page appellate court decision on 28 September dismissed Mr Trump’s lawsuit against the judge presiding over his case in an effort to stall the civil trial’s start date on 2 October.

A ruling comes just days after the judge’s blockbuster decision finding Mr Trump and others liable for more than a decade of fraud after a years-long investigation from the state attorney general.

A bench trial could begin as soon as Monday. Judge Arthur F Engoron will preside without a jury.

His scathing order on 26 September granted a partial judgment in favour of Letitia James, whose blockbuster lawsuit alleges Mr Trump and his business empire defrauded banks and insurers by grossly overvaluing assets and exaggerating his net worth on documents to secure deals and financing.

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Did Trump fake union turnout at his Michigan rally?

Sunday 1 October 2023 06:00 , John Bowden

Donald Trump’s speech to a crowd in Clinton Township, Michigan, could not have contrasted with the day-earlier visit by his likely 2024 opponent to any greater degree.

While Joe Biden was on the picket line and making a name for himself as the most pro-labour president since at least FDR, if not in history, Donald Trump was preparing for a much different visit to the Rust Belt — one that was in many ways very typical of a politician like him.

For days leading up to Mr Trump’s Wednesday visit, a cascade of news stories highlighted his plans to “speak to union autoworkers”. The Detroit Free Press, New York Times and other reputable media outlets ran with the claim that Mr Trump would speak to an audience of 500 “former and current” union autoworkers, based on details released by the Trump campaign on day four of the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike.

But like everything with Donald Trump and his facts-optional brand of politics, the truth of the matter was hopelessly obscured both by his own operatives and credulous reporters who repeated a canned press release ad nauseam.

Mr Trump spoke on Wednesday evening and delivered potentially one of the strangest speeches a GOP politician has given in recent memory. The Republican ex-president, a member of a party that has famously battled unions for decades and whose members speak of teachers’ unions with the same level of disrespect they reserve for organised crime, pleaded for union votes and urged his audience to push UAW president Shawn Fain to endorse him.

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The Lincoln Project endorses Joe Biden, saying he’s fighting ‘a global authoritarian movement’

Sunday 1 October 2023 05:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Mark Milley calls Trump a ‘wannabe dictator’ at his retirement ceremony

Sunday 1 October 2023 04:00 , Mike Bedigan

Outgoing Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley seemed to refer to former president Donald Trump as a “wannabe dictator” in remarks made at his retirement ceremony.

Mr Milley, who steps down from the role after a four-year term, first hailed the US military as “unique among the world’s armies” during his speech.

“We don’t take an oath to a country,” he continued. “We don’t take an oath to a tribe. We don’t take an oath to a religion.”

And then he appeared to take a swing at the ex-commander-in-chief.

“We don’t take an oath to a king, or queen, or a tyrant or a dictator. And we don’t take an oath to a wannabe dictator. We don’t take an oath to an individual.

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Ex-GOP strategist endorses Biden: ‘To do nothing is to help the evil spread'

Sunday 1 October 2023 03:15 , Gustaf Kilander

Former Republican strategist Stuart Stevens endorsed President Joe Biden in a lengthy post on X.

“In 2016, Russia helped elect Donald Trump. What did it get? Today the party that once was the most consistent antagonist of Soviet Union/Russia is the home of the large and growing pro-Putin element of American politics,” he said. “@POTUS is in the role that represents the best of America: leading a coalition to fight tyranny and genocide. If Ronald Reagan were president today, he would do the same.”

“If you care about liberty and the defence of freedom, if you believe it is wrong to stand by while thousands of children are kidnapped and a tyrant sends an army of rapists and murderers to prey on the innocent, you have one choice in this election: support @POTUS,” he added. “There is no neutral position on confronting an evil unlike any we have seen since WW2. To do nothing is to help the evil spread. Stand with freedom. Stand with human dignity. Stand with Ukraine. Stand with @POTUS.”